


May the Wind be at your Back

by crypticgrayson



Category: Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2
Genre: Angst, Death, Drama, F/M, Goodbye, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-26
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-10-17 06:54:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17555510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crypticgrayson/pseuds/crypticgrayson
Summary: The final goodbye between you and Arthur





	May the Wind be at your Back

“Abigail, you okay?” You asked the woman sitting behind you on your horse, Abigail letting out a pained yes in response. 

You, Arthur and Sadie went to go save her from the Pinkerton agents who had abducted her, Dutch deciding it was better to leave her behind. 

“Fucking Micah, I knew we couldn’t trust that rat” Sadie spat, checking the road behind the 4 of you to make sure you’d had lost the Pinkertons. 

“And Dutch, all this time acting like a great leader, goddammit!” She followed up, making you shake your head as you gritted your teeth. 

“All them years, and for what?” Arthur spoke from besides you, making you look over at him, a pained expression set on his face. “For Dutch to decide that the only people worth his time are the ones that blindly follow him” You told him, Arthur’s knuckles turning white from the tight grip he had on his horse’s reins. 

“Hold up here for a moment-“ “Arthur, we don’t have time” You interrupted him, but he halted his horse, leading you and Sadie to do the same. 

He got off his horse and walked over to you and Abigail, something finally seeming to click in her head. “J-John, where’s John?”

You closed your eyes and took in a deep breath, but Arthur had already chosen to answer the question all of you were dreading. 

“I-.. I’m sorry Abigail, he-“ “No! N-No..” She cried, making your heart hurt even more than you had thought imaginable. 

“Jack’s safe, Tilly took him to Copperhead Landing” Sadie spoke, but you were unsure if Abigail even heard her words through her cries. 

“Just know that.. that he loved you and Jack more than anything” Arthur spoke, looking up at Abigail slouched over on the back of your horse. 

“So please, go back for him. Y/N and Sadie will make sure you get back safe” He continued, making you and Sadie both give him a look that already said enough. 

“What are you saying? I ain’t leaving you behind” You told him, Arthur shaking his head as he took a step to the side so he was facing you. 

“Dutch needs to know the truth” “Please.. you ain’t gonna get out of there alive and I-“ “I need to do this” He sternly told you, making you bite your lip as you averted your eyes from him, not wanting Arthur to see the tears starting to form in your eyes. 

“You get Abigail back to Jack, and you go live a happy life yes? All of you” He continued, taking in a deep breath as he looked back at Sadie as well. 

You wanted to tell him how you truly felt right then and there, but you couldn’t, grabbing his hand as he wanted to walk away. 

“You come back to me, yeah?” You simply told him, but you knew it was enough, Arthur giving you a soft smile as an only response. “Go on, get outta here” He told the three of you, you still wanting to jump off your horse and just get out of there together with him. 

Instead you simply gave a soft push into your horse’s side, turning around to follow the path leading to copperhead landing.  
~

“Oh Jack! You’re okay!” Abigail cried, her son running into her arms as you and Sadie followed her to the shack Tilly had escaped to. 

“I had some food ready, I don’t know of y’all are hungry?” Tilly asked, Sadie and Abigail agreeing eagerly but you declined. “I’m gonna stay out here for a bit” “You want me to stay here with you?” Sadie asked but you turned down the offer. “I’ll be fine, you go ahead” You told her with the best smile you could muster, sitting down on the steps leading up to the door. 

“Where’s Arthur?” Were the last words you heard Tilly ask before the doors closed behind them, leaving you alone in the darkness outside. 

You could hit yourself in the head for just letting Arthur leave like that, hating the fact that you didn’t even bother to try and stop him, and were too stupid to tell him how you felt. 

You almost had a heart attack when you heard the sounds of hooves approaching from the darkness, the moonlight falling on who it was. 

Your eyes first focused on the leather hat you’d recognize in a heartbeat, but the face underneath didn’t match, sending a pain through your chest you couldn’t describe in any words. 

“J-John?.. You’re alive..” You managed to bring out, but the realization of what must’ve happened for John to come here alone hit you hard. 

“Y/N.. I don’t know what to say” John softly spoke, getting off his horse and walking over in front of you. He reached a hand up to take Arthur’s hat off, a deep breath escaping his parted lips. “He saved my life, he stayed behind to keep them off me, but I don’t what.. what happened” 

You lowered yourself back down on the wooden steps, John wanting to sit down next to you but you stopped him. “Just go to your family, please” You managed to bring out, John getting back up but leaving his hat next to you, hearing Abigail yelling John’s name when he walked inside. 

Once you managed to finally steady your breathing again you brought up the courage to grab Arthur’s hat, your thumb gliding over the rough leather fabric. 

You stood back up and walked into the shack, the conversation inside halting as everyone’s heads turned to you. “John, please bring me to where you two separated” You told him, John standing up and only answering with a nod. Sadie followed him outside and the three of you mounted your horses, following John through the trees.

Your heart was now beating so fast you were sure you were going to throw up, Sadie reaching for your arm and giving it a soft squeeze. 

“It’s-.. It’s up here” John spoke, his voice coming out rough. “Y/N, John, you two please wait here, let me go have a look first” Sadie spoke as the three of you dismounted your horses but you quickly shook your head. “N-No please-.. Just let me-“ “Trust me Y/N, I’m begging you” Sadie continued, your shoulders dropping which Sadie accepted as a sign for her to go on ahead, John grabbing onto your arms. 

It felt like Sadie had left for hours, when it had cost merely a few minutes before she came back down to mountain path, her expression almost making your stomach empty into your mouth. You pulled yourself free from John’s hands and stormed past Sadie who attempted to stop you as she ran behind you, “Y/N please don’t!” She yelled, but she was already too late. The clothes on the lifeless body laying on the ground just a few feet in front of you were hard to misidentify. 

Your knees gave out on you as a loud sob escaped you, your vision blocked by the hot tears rolling down your cheeks, Sadie landing on her knees beside you as she pulled you against her, John standing frozen in place behind you. 

Your entire future, all your hopes and dreams crushed in a matter of hours. All the possible ways you could have stopped him from going back playing through your head.

You felt your entire body starting to shake as your throat tightened even further, your loud sobs sounding even louder on top of the mountain, the silence of the night sky making you feel even emptier inside. 

~

Your feet sank into the mud beneath the damp grass you were standing on, a low mist making you unable to see your boots. “We’ll leave you alone for a moment, we’ll be waiting by the horses” Sadie spoke as she laid a hand on your shoulder, you only being able to reply with a short nod.

You waited for another few moments before taking a couple steps forward, red flowers coming into your sight before finally lifting your head, the wooden cross coming into your line of sight. 

A wooden cross, now the symbol of the future you had dreamed of almost every night. The future he had given to John and Abigail, the future that was supposed to be you and him.


End file.
